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Curious....

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Why does carbon build up on the left side of my piston tops and not on the power side?

And, why is the sky blue?
 

Mickey Richaud

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TR6BILL said:
Why does carbon build up on the left side of my piston tops and not on the power side?

And, why is the sky blue?

Because.

For a more enlightened answer, see here:
 

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TR6oldtimer

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TR6BILL said:
Why does carbon build up on the left side of my piston tops and not on the power side?

And, why is the sky blue?
Not on the power side? You mean the bottom. Well....
The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering.
 

poolboy

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Bill have you been running too rich? Have you ever noticed a gasoline smell in the oil on your dip stick?
 
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Nope, not running rich.

If you all were to remove the heads to your engines, you would all see carbon buildup on top of the pistons. The Bentley manual even has instructions on how to remove that carbon.

I guess that the power side (carb side) is hotter, that is why you stagger your rings away from that side.
 

TR6oldtimer

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So, you are saying the carbon builds up more on the spark plug side. This would suggest to me there is incomplete combustion upon the spark, but the gas mixture burns more throughly as the flame spreads across the piston.

A guess...
 

poolboy

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Yeah, and I believe it's recommended that one shouldn't get too enthusiastic about removing carbon build-up around the perimeter of the piston, especially in an older engine.
 

DrEntropy

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If it ain't comin' apart, let sleeping dogs lie. One chunk of "coke" down betwixt wall and piston is askin' fer trouble. Stuff the bores with paper towels instead!

If you just HAVE to do something about it, wait 'til it's running again and mist some water into the throats at 3K RPM.
 

TR6oldtimer

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DrEntropy said:
If you just HAVE to do something about it, wait 'til it's running again and mist some water into the throats at 3K RPM.

My old man use to spray a mixture of water and diesel oil into the carbs while the engine was running. He claimed it took care of carbon build up. The cloud of smoke was a sight to see. If I were to do that today, I'd be arrested.

He also would run a mixture of motor oil and diesel in the crankcase every third oil change to clean out sludge.

None of this appeared to harm the engines, but I'm not sure I would do any of this, however he learned about engines as a farm boy, and swore by these procedures.

I miss him....
 

poolboy

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Ray, those were the Guys that could keep their tractors running 50 years.
 
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Aren't these supposed to be <span style="font-style: italic">tractor motors</span>?
 

poolboy

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The thing looks just like the engine in the car I learned to drive in. Mother's 52 Chevy. Well, maybe the carb was different.
 

TR6oldtimer

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:] ....hey Ray,..ever hear of the busted up walnut pieces to decoke a head? pour em in the carb while keeping the revs up....[/QUOTE]
That's what Twosheds squirrels were trying to do, only from the wrong end....

Smoke.jpg
 

TR674

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Bill
I have the head off my engine at the moment and there are lots of loose flakes of carbon on the pistons. I'm curious as to why this doesn't get blown out with the exhaust gas?????? There must be a fair bit of air movement in there.
Regards
Craig
 
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Most mechanics I talk to (ok, they aren't LBC mechanics) say that is pretty much normal, caked carbon on the tops of the piston. Again, refer to the Bentley manual where they talk about removal of such. I don't believe that they would devote a section to this phenomenon knowing the economy of words they are noted for.
 

2wrench

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Everybody knows why the sky is blue.

The sky is blue for swatting shuttlecocks;
doing skeetshooting and watching air shows...

and, yes, Mickey,

Air is for blowing up volleyballs and basketballs.

Bill Cosby. The King of clean comedy.
 
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